Residents of the Vuwani area have threatened not to participate in the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s voter's registration weekend. The upcoming registration week is an opportunity for people to update their addresses and have their names included in the voter's roll.

One of the residents, who did not want to be named, said that they were concerned that this was another ploy meant to facilitate the Municipal Demarcation Board’s decision to incorporate the Vuwani area with Malamulele in order to form the new Collins Chabane Municipality. “We have voiced our anger from the onset, saying that we don’t want to be part of that municipality,” said the resident.

The government has ordered the residents to participate in the registration, but Vuwani residents are refusing to register under the new municipality.

The Pro-Makhado Task Team’s spokesperson, Mr Nsovo Sambo, said that the IEC officers would be allowed to do their job in the Vuwani area, but community members indicated that they would not register.

The Limpopo IEC provincial electoral officer, Nkaro Mateta, said that the threats by residents of Vuwani that they would not register to vote would only delay the progress on issues they had with the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB).

Mateta said that it was impossible for the IEC to deal with municipal boundaries. He urged residents in the Vuwani area to confirm their addresses.